She said she was heading towards the lifts when the man hit the ground in front of her just after 6.30pm on Monday.

The shopping centre had to close for the rest of the evening as emergency services tried to save him, but he was pronounced dead shortly after.

"I was walking from Nando's and I just saw him fall and land on his back in front of me," Miss Cresswell said.

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"I rang the ambulance and someone brought the defibrillators and the first aid kit. Me and another bloke got the defib out and set it all up and put it on his chest.

"I'm a first aider at my work so I got into the automatic mode of getting help, ringing the ambulance and getting the defib out and following instructions.

"I was trying to help him for about ten to 15 minutes before the paramedics arrived, so not that long. They were quick in coming.

"They worked on him for about 20 minutes but he didn't survive."

Humberside Police said the man had jumped to his death from the third floor of the building.

INCIDENT: Emergency services at the scene at Princes Quay shopping centre in Hull

Miss Creswell, who said the centre was not too busy when the man fell over the barriers, was in shock at what happened.

"I'm in shock. I have never seen anything so horrific in my life," she said.

"I don't know how to put it into words. It was horrible, just horrible.

"Me and my friend had just visited Princes Quay because it was her leaving meal. You just don't expect it to happen."

Other witnesses in the shopping centre at the time had told of their horror.

One woman, whose daughters witnessed the incident, said: "One of them said they were just coming up the escalator and then out of the corner of their eye they've just seen someone fall backwards over the barrier and onto the floor below.

"Apparently it didn't look good. The security ran to them straight away.

"My daughters are in shock. I really hope the man is OK. It's not something you want to hear and not something you'd like to see yourself."

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A spokesman for Humberside Police said: "We were called to an incident at Princes Quay shopping centre in Hull shortly before 6.40pm following reports of a man having suffered serious injuries after jumping from a balcony inside the shopping centre near the cinema.

"Ambulance crews treated the man on scene but he was pronounced dead a short time later.

"An investigation into the circumstances that led to the incident is now under way. We are not looking for anyone else at this time.

"We have already spoken to a number of witnesses but are asking for anyone else who saw the incident but hasn't yet come forward."